Need recommendations for reliable car service in Mumbai

January 29, 2015 10:43 AM

The imperial family and I will be traveling to Mumbai in a couple of weeks. We'll be arriving at a profoundly unfriendly hour of the night with three children 12 & under. We need to get from the airport down to the Fort District without getting taken for a ride, as it were. What do you recommend: Taxi rank at the airport? Reliable car service? Recommendations sought.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze to Travel & Transportation around Mumbai, India (4 answers total)

In a pinch: Uber.

We didn't use it to/from the airport (a friend's driver did the pickup/dropoff), but we did use it for the rest of our transit needs while there two months ago. It was very convenient, reliable, affordable, etc.
posted by melissasaurus at 11:11 AM on January 29, 2015

Merucab. Uber has had a bad reputation in India. I used merucab to get to the airport but they are very courteous along with realtime gps location in the mobile app. Fares are fixed and completely mobile.
posted by radsqd at 11:45 AM on January 29, 2015

I like Ola Cabs better than Meru generally, and the last time I was in India, Ola was cheaper.
posted by Ragini at 3:15 PM on January 29, 2015

Just take a taxi. There is a booth just before you exit the airport where you buy a pre-paid voucher to wherever you want to go. You take this outside and the taxi rank is right there. Your driver will find you, you get in the taxi, and he takes you where you want to go. It's safe (because the booth has the number of the taxi and driver) and you don't have to bargain with anyone.

You will need cash for the booth - there's a travelex desk just after exiting customs.

Whatever you do, do NOT just head for the rank without a prepaid chit - you'll be mobbed.
posted by girlgenius at 3:52 AM on January 30, 2015